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Beginner Practice Amp

Soonerbldr

Soonerbldr

Jul 31, 2009
278
129
Seattle, WA
#1
I bought a bass a couple of years ago and because of work have moved quite a bit. I am ready, finally, to take learning and playing seriously and have been looking at taking lessons.
When i got my bass I bought an Acoustic B20 Amp to practice with. However since the last move it wont keep a fuse. I will switch the fuse and within 10 seconds of turning it on the fuse has blown. I am sure I can take it in and get it fixed but I only gave $60 for the amp and I am sure it would be more than that given I was charged $50 to set up my bass.

So anyway, I want to get something that won't break the bank but something that would be good practice set up. I doubt I will ever play in front of people but it would be nice to have something that if I did I could roll over to that as well.

What would you experienced pro's and teachers recommend? :help:
 
#3
I would get something you can practice with using good headphones. There's tons of ways to do it. I have a big rig and i still practice at home using a headphones and line 6 pod hd. I prefer the pod because the effects keep me practicing past when I would normally get bored. Plus the pod connects to my computer so I can use protools or reaper(which is free to try) to learn a song. It's great because I can import an mp3 into reaper or protools then use them to loop a section of the song over and over so I don't have to keep rewinding to learn a specific part that may be giving me some trouble.
 
#4
Nephilymbass said:
I would get something you can practice with using good headphones. There's tons of ways to do it. I have a big rig and i still practice at home using a headphones and line 6 pod hd. I prefer the pod because the effects keep me practicing past when I would normally get bored. Plus the pod connects to my computer so I can use protools or reaper(which is free to try) to learn a song. It's great because I can import an mp3 into reaper or protools then use them to loop a section of the song over and over so I don't have to keep rewinding to learn a specific part that may be giving me some trouble.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah I used to use headphones a lot but now that my original amp was dead I need something and don't want to fall in to the Acoustic trap again.
When I do get a new amp I will definitely check out the Line 6 pod.
 
#6
Honestly I would never go the bedroom amp route again. That's just because I've become a headphone guy. To my mind practice amps are a poor investment.

For the same price as a practice amp you could get the world famous tones of a half dozen top of the line bass amps, and all the cabs, stomps and effects that you would ever need all from Amplitube 3. Get a small recording interface like an MBox or a Amplug, and go straight into a laptop or your PC. In my opinion you'd be mugging yourself taking any other route these days. Opinions on amp simulators vary but I'd be doing it completely for the sake of versatility and fun. I've been using Amplitube as my rehearsal pre-amp for two bands over the last 3 months and it's legendary.
 
#9
I like practicing with headphones, with effects. My phones don't sound like my cab so they sound kinda boring. Out loud I'd rather practice with a big cab than a practice combo. Combos sound so light on the bottom end. Having an effects unit usually distracts me from actual practice or learning something new. I get sucked into making cool sounds than making music. Either way I have a great time!
 
#11
Don't waste time or money buying a "practice amp" you may outgrow in a year.
There are plenty of good lightweight combo amps that will offer you line in/phone out, keep up with a small group and still have a reasonably small footprint.

If all you want to do is practice stick with headphones.
 
#12
Soonerbldr said:
So anyway, I want to get something that won't break the bank but something that would be good practice set up. I doubt I will ever play in front of people but it would be nice to have something that if I did I could roll over to that as well.
Click to expand...

Based upon that criteria, I would recommend a GK MB combo, probably the MB-210, which are inexpensive enough new but can also be had used for a very reasonable price. I have all kinds of high-end gear, but I picked up one of these for use as a practice amp that would scale up to jams and small/med gigs. So far it's held it's own very well. These also support an 8ohm extension cab if you want to scale up farther. They're super lightweight, and get plenty loud.

-Alan
 

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